1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a cigarette tube filling device with a housing bottom part having an approximately semicylindrical lower half of a press chamber for forming a shaped tobacco article.
2. Description of Related Art
A cigarette tube filling device of this type is disclosed in DE 2,159,054. In this document, the housing bottom part is block-like and on the top side has, for forming a press chamber, an approximately semi-cylindrical recess, on which a thin-walled semicylindrical tongue rests having an end remote from the ejection nozzle provided with an abutment and a pin-shaped extension projecting outward through a slot at the housing bottom part transversely to the axis of the press chamber. In one embodiment, finger engagement takes place directly on a spherical thick portion of the extension, and in another embodiment there is provided a slide which engages over the housing top part pivoted downward onto the housing bottom part and which grasps the end of the extension by means of a perforation and offers a relatively large engagement surface.
In both cases, the guidance of the tongue leaves much to be desired. The propulsive force exerted on the end of the extension on the outside leads to a bending moment which is conducted to the end of the thin-walled tongue. This results in one-sided bearing of the tongue in the semicylindrical recess of the housing bottom part and in considerable friction. The forces, already appreciable in any case, which are necessary for pushing out the formed pressurized tobacco strand into the cigarette tube are further intensified as a result of the friction.
This known embodiment is also complicated to produce, either because the housing bottom part must be openable at the end so that the tongue together with the abutment and the extension can be pushed in from the end, or because a separate extension has to be connected to the tongue and the abutment through the slot from the side.
DE 2,055,673C discloses a similar cigarette tube filling device which, laterally of the actual filling device, also comprises a storage space for tobacco.
In this document, the extension located on the tongue is angled at 90.degree. and extends through a corresponding duct to the side wall, where an actuating knob is provided. At the same time, the tongue, in a self-supporting manner, forms the lower half of the press volume. However, guidance in the angled duct easily leads to tilts and, moreover, makes it necessary for the housing bottom part to be composed of a plurality of parts in the region of this duct.